A posh New York City penthouse just sold for $238 million, breaking the record for the most expensive home sale in the United States.

The sale, which was reported by The Wall Street Journal, closed Wednesday to Kenneth Griffin, a billionaire hedge fund owner. The nearly 24,000-square-foot unit is under construction and it's actually two apartments combined into one palatial pad overlooking Central Park.

As homebuyers grapple with declining affordability thanks to rising home prices, a $238 million home is unfathomable to most folks. At that price, a homebuyer putting 20 percent down would pay a monthly mortgage payment of around $978,351 -- and that's before adding in property taxes, homeowners insurance or homeowners association fees. Talk about deep pockets.

To put the jaw-dropping $238 million price tag into context, let's take a look at how many median-priced homes that amount would buy in some of the nation's largest metropolitan markets. We also used a mortgage calculator to determine how much a borrower's monthly mortgage payment would be for a median-priced home in each market, with 20 percent down.